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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27954761">How G2 Saved Christmas (After Nearly Ruining It For Everyone)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cerona/pseuds/Cerona'>Cerona</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>League of Legends RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>A Goodbye to Perkz, And A Welcome to Rekkles, Christmas Crack, Dreamserver AdventFic 2020, Fluff and Crack, M/M, but is trying his best, caps and wunder are literally horny, jankos ruined christmas, rekkles just wants to fit in, with a hint of angst</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-11 00:22:11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,090</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27954761</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cerona/pseuds/Cerona</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Christmas Eve, and all Martin wants to do is to get a good night of sleep before spending the big day with his family.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, his new teammates over at G2 have other plans.</p>
<p>(Santa Claus is real, he is indisposed at the moment, and it may or may not be Jankos' fault)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Marcin "Jankos" Jankowski/Martin "Rekkles" Larson, Martin "Wunder" Hansen/Rasmus "Caps" Winther, Mihael "Mikyx" Mehle/Luka "PerkZ" Perković</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>DreamServer 2020 Advent Event</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>How G2 Saved Christmas (After Nearly Ruining It For Everyone)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Alternative title: The Advent of Jankos Claus</p>
<p>Welcome to day 8 of the Dreamserver Advent Calendar! I, <strike>Satan</strike> Cerona, will be your host for the day. I would like to apologize in advance to our fabulous Narrator, Fabulous_Hasi, for what I am about to put them through. I hope you enjoy my crack-fueled creation :nemelove:</p>
<p>And also, if you want to join our lovely Dreamserver Discord, simply use the link here: https://discord.gg/rDbETBjUQQ</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The first time Martin heard a knock on his window, he dismissed it as the wind and went back to sleep.</p>
<p>The second time he heard the knock, he furrowed his brows and pulled his pillow up to his ears. He had to wake up early tomorrow morning for Christmas with his family, and like hell was he going to do that with bags under his eyes.</p>
<p>The third time he heard the knock, he sighed and sat up on his bed. It was probably a loose branch that got caught on his window, carried there by the wind. Might as well fix it before it bothered him anymore— "Helloooo. Rekkles, are you in there?”</p>
<p>Wait, Jankos?</p>
<p>Another flurry of knocks, and he heard a mumbled argument coming from behind his window. Something about “did we get the right house?” and “idiot, you’re going to wake up the whole neighborhood”.</p>
<p>Martin was fairly certain that this was a dream. It was the only explanation. Jankos should be all the way in Poland right now, and he himself was in Sweden to spend Christmas with his family. He must have had too much eggnog before bed. It was that belief that drove him to lay back on his bed and pull up his blanket. If this was a dream, that meant that he was already sleeping anyway.</p>
<p>Just as he was about to close his eyes, a flash of red crashed through his window and landed on his floor with a thud.</p>
<p>Martin shot back up on his bed, mouth gaping open, ready to release a throat piercing scream when a gloved hand covered it, and he found himself staring into a pair of metallic green eyes.</p>
<p>“Finally!” Jankos said with a grin, or at least Martin assumed there was a grin. He couldn’t really tell through the fake beard. “I knew we got the right house. Sorry about the window; your house didn’t have a chimney.”</p>
<p>Martin screamed, even if the glove silenced him.</p>
<p>“Whoa. Hey. It’s just me—Jankos.”</p>
<p>That just made Martin scream even harder.</p>
<p>“Okay, okay! If you stop screaming and calm down, I promise I will let go of you, okay?”</p>
<p>Martin continued to scream until his throat burned and his lungs cried out for air, at which point he was silent not by choice.</p>
<p>“Okay.” Slowly, Jankos pulls his hand away, and Martin finally notices that his new jungler is wearing a full-on Santa outfit, complete with a fake, fluffy white beard. “Now, I know you have a lot of questions—”</p>
<p>“What the fuck are you doing in my house? Why are you here? <em>How </em>are you here?”</p>
<p>“—But we don’t have a lot of time, so I need you to trust me here. For now—” the jungler reaches behind him and pulls out what looked to be a green and red elf costume. “Put these – holy shit, you sleep naked in the winter too, fucking hardcore – put these on, and then meet me outside your window.”</p>
<p>It was only now that Martin noticed that Jankos was basically straddling him on his bed—and, wow, this is not a good time to have morning wood. Judging by the jungler’s carefree expression, he didn’t even realize the compromising position they were in. Martin cleared his throat, hoping that the darkness would cover his flushed face.  “Hey—um—do you mind?”</p>
<p>“What? Oh!” Jankos leapt off of the bed. Moonlight streamed down from the open window, just enough for Martin to see the jungler’s cheeks redden. “I’ll just leave you to—yeah.”</p>
<p>And on that last word, he dove back out the window as suddenly as he came.</p>
<p>Martin didn’t know what drove him to put on the elf outfit. Fear? Shellshock? Curiosity? Whatever the case, the outfit was a perfect fit and a cursory glance at the mirror told him that, of course, he looked <em>amazing</em> in it. He climbed out, taking care to avoid the broken glass, and wondered just how much weirder this night could get.</p>
<p>“I still don’t get why I have to be the reindeer,” Wunder said, picking at his antlers. Real, natural deer antlers. He wore what Martin could best assume to be a reindeer costume—one of those onesies you see kids wearing, only adult sized. Around his torso was a harness that bound the toplaner to a red sleigh through a pair of ropes. A red sleigh that floated just in front of his family’s house. For that matter, Wunder was floating too.</p>
<p>Jankos sighed and his feet tapped the roof tile, as if he had heard this question many times before. “For the last time, we need someone strong enough to pull the sleigh.”</p>
<p>“Then why is he a reindeer too?” Wunder jammed a thumb at Rasmus’ direction. The midlaner was in a similar reindeer get up, floated too, but was distracted in playing with his red nose, giggling whenever it squeaked.</p>
<p>“Well I can’t just have you in front all alone. People would be scared away!”</p>
<p>“You—”</p>
<p>“Oh!” Rasmus perked up and waved at his formerly-ex-now-new ADC. “Hi, Martin.”</p>
<p>All Martin could do was weakly wave back.</p>
<p>“Oh, good!” Jankos turned to him, clapping his hands together. “You’re ready.”</p>
<p>At this point, Martin was almost too afraid to ask. Even then, “Ready for what?”</p>
<p>Before Jankos could answer, a pair of shadows flew by overhead, landing inside the sleigh.</p>
<p>“Presents sent and delivered,” Mihael reported, wearing the same elf outfit as Martin was now.</p>
<p>“Your family put out some pretty shit cookies, by the way,” Luka mumbled through a full mouth, staring directly into Martin’s eyes as he munched on said cookies. He wore the same elf getup too. At seeing his rival and often-times frienemy, Martin felt his tongue untangle as his frustrations finally reaches a boiling point.</p>
<p>“First of all, fuck you, they’re amazing. Secondly, did you two just break into my family’s house?” Somewhere, deep inside the recesses of his mind, Martin noted that he wasn’t as worried as when he thought that it was just Jankos. “Third, those are for Santa. And finally, will somebody finally tell me what the fuck is going on!?”</p>
<p>Luka scoffed. “First of all, no they’re not. Secondly, yeah, and what are you going to do about it?”</p>
<p>“Ignore him. And as for the third…” Jankos cringed. “About that…”</p>
<p>“And for your final point—” Luka placed a foot on the sleigh’s edge, put his hands on his waist, and puffed his chest out. “Get in, loser. We’re going to go save Christmas.”</p>
<p>“Save Christmas?” Martin blinked. “Save it from what?”</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>“Jankos did WHAT?”</p>
<p>Jankos winced. “In my defense, I didn’t think it was going to work.”</p>
<p>But Martin would have none of it as he pulled at his hair. “This is insane. What kind of psychopath sets up a trap for Santa in their chimney?”</p>
<p>“A polish jungler one, apparently,” Mihael quipped.</p>
<p>“It was a joke buy!” Jankos cried. “My friends dared me to buy it as a joke. And I though ‘why not’ you know? What’s the worst that could happen?”</p>
<p>“Killing Santa apparently!”</p>
<p>“He’s not dead, he’s just stuck in my chimney!”</p>
<p>Martin put his head in his hands. “Just my luck. The first time I left Fnatic, Elements crashed and burned. The second time I left, I join the team that ruined Christmas!”</p>
<p>“Hey!” Wunder cried as he flew through the air, pulling the sleigh with him. They were high above the clouds now, the moon a giant semicircle behind them. For what it was worth, the sleigh was far more spacious than what Martin had assumed, and the cushions soft enough that he could almost sleep on them. Almost. “Let’s set the record straight here: <em>Jankos </em>ruined Christmas, the rest of us are just being dragged along for the ride.”</p>
<p>“And I very much appreciate your contributions, Wunder, but Christmas isn’t ruined just yet!” The jungler waved his hands, and what looked like little motes of light fell down from them like snow. “Santa gave me a bit of his Christmas magic so I can take over his job for the night. You are all looking at the Substitute Santa: Jankos Claus!”</p>
<p>A beat of silence passed.</p>
<p>“Christmas is doomed,” Mihael said.</p>
<p>“It’s so doomed,” Luka parroted.</p>
<p>“Wow. Thanks for the vote of confidence guys. Really appreciate it. Good to know you all have my back.”</p>
<p>“We’re still here, aren’t we?” the Slovenian support asked.</p>
<p>“Actually.” Martin pulled his head out of his hands. “I get that he’s supposed to be substitute Santa – still can’t believe that Santa’s real, by the way – but what are you guys supposed to be?”</p>
<p>“Substitute Reindeer!” Rasmus cheered, twirling in the air.</p>
<p>“Substitute Elf,” Luka answered with a shit-eating grin, gesturing to his elf ears.</p>
<p>“Santa’s magic lets me transform people into my little helpers,” Jankos explained. “I can’t save Christmas all on my own, you know? And who else can I turn to but the best professional League of Legends team in the world?”</p>
<p>“I don’t see DAMWON in this sleigh.”</p>
<p>“Okay,” Martin said. “But—why me too?”</p>
<p>Jankos’ manic energy seemed to dissipate as soon as he said those words. The jungler stood straighter, a little tenser, and tilted his head to the side like a confused dog. “I mean—you’re a member of this team, right? Why wouldn’t we invite you to come along?”</p>
<p>Martin was about to point out that Luka wasn’t a member of the team anymore, but he had the sudden realization that that would be a Very Bad Move. For that matter, why <em>did</em> he just assume that he wouldn’t be invited? Martin scratched the back of his neck, suddenly very uncomfortable. He <em>had </em>been playing duos with Miky for a while now, and even some norms and Among Us with the team and staff. Maybe it just hadn’t set in yet?</p>
<p>Everyone must have noticed his silence, as the mood on the sleigh chilled considerably. Even the reindeer duo at the front turned their heads back in worry. <em>Fuck</em>. This was exactly what he was worried about. Becoming the guy that would ruin even G2’s mood.</p>
<p>Jankos cleared his throat. “Look, if you don’t want to help, we understand. You can just stay in the sleigh for now and we’ll drop you off at your house before we leave Sweden.”</p>
<p>“No,” Martin replied. “No, I can help. I want to help.”</p>
<p>“Are you sure? It’s okay if you don’t.”</p>
<p>“I’m sure,” he confirmed. “I mean, it’s Christmas. Why would I <em>not </em>want to save it?” That, and he was determined to prove to the team and to himself that he wouldn’t be a complete downer.</p>
<p>Jankos just <em>looked </em>at him, and for a brief moment Martin could see the veteran league player underneath all of the shouting and boundless energy. “Well, I guess if you’re sure…” The jungler clapped his hands together, and Martin suddenly felt his ears grow sharper. “Welcome on board, Rekkles.”</p>
<p>“Good to be here,” Martin said, a genuine smile on his face as he fiddled with his new ear tips. “I promise I won’t let you down.”</p>
<p>“Good, and with that done…” Jankos spun to face the front of the sleigh, exaggeratedly pointing at the horizon. “Full speed ahead, my reindeers! We have a Christmas to save!”</p>
<p>“Jankos, I swear to God, when I get my hands on you—”</p>
<p>“Full Speed!”</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Their first stop after Sweden was Denmark. Copenhagen, to be exact, and to see his hometown from high above, with all the pretty Christmas lights glimmering the skyline, sent a wave of awe over Rasmus. He hadn’t expected something like this to happen when he stayed over at Martin’s house to spend Christmas with his boyfriend, but he wasn’t complaining. The amazing sights and quality time he got with his team more than made up for it.</p>
<p><em>Someone </em>wasn’t enjoying the experience as much as he was though. Rasmus took a peek to his side where Martin – well, Wunder-Martin – floated with crossed arms and a barely concealed pout. He knew that look, it was the look Martin had whenever he was being forced to do content he didn’t like, or if Grabbz asked him to play SoloQ again, and that wouldn’t do! Tonight was a magical night, and Rasmus was going to make sure his boyfriend enjoyed it even if it was the last thing he did. He glanced back at the sleigh, where Rekkles-Martin and Miky were discussing Samira matchups. Jankos and Luka had already gone down to handle the first house.</p>
<p>He drifted over to Martin’s side, legs dangling uselessly in the air, and nudged his boyfriend’s antlers with his own. “Hey, are you not having fun?”</p>
<p>Martin looked at him from the corner of his eyes and his expression softened, sighing. “Is it that obvious?”</p>
<p>“A little. Your face looks like you’re sucking on a piece of lemon.”</p>
<p>“Does not.” But there was no fire in Martin’s words. He uncrossed his arms and his shoulders sagged. “Sorry if I’m bringing everyone down. Don’t get me wrong, the flying’s great and all, it’s just..”</p>
<p>“Hey,” Rasmus coaxed when Martin turned his gaze away. “You can tell me, it’s okay.”</p>
<p>“…it’s just that I was hoping that it would only be the two of us, you know? This is the first time I get to see you in person after offseason started.” The toplaner scratched the back of his neck, a blush on his face. “I—uh, I even planned a whole date night and all.”</p>
<p>Rasmus’ heart melted when he heard that, but he knew Martin well enough to know that this wasn’t normal for him by any means. Not that his boyfriend wasn’t romantic, the shower of kisses he would get whenever he did so much as do something cute like yawning a testament to that, but if you had to point out which one of them was needier, most would pick Rasmus. No, there was something else bothering Martin.</p>
<p><em>And I think I know what</em>. Rasmus glanced over into the sleigh just as Rekkles-Martin’s gaze turned to him. For a moment, Rasmus could feel the weight of their past bearing down on his shoulders. Both of them burned a lot of bridges when he left for G2, and only recently did they start mending them together. While he never really talked about his relationship with the old Martin with his teammates, he suspected that most of them knew. Wunder-Martin definitely knew, even if he never said as much. Couple that fact with his boyfriend’s increased anxiety and doubts once rumors of G2 Rekkles started becoming more concrete, and it wasn’t hard to put two-and-two together. Oh, Martin never said as much and hid it well, but Rasmus had become proficient in picking up his boyfriend’s subtler cues over the months they dated to know that he was afraid.</p>
<p>He needed to have a long, proper talk with Rekkles-Martin soon, but right now there was only one Martin on his mind.</p>
<p>To his surprise, the old Martin looked away first, turning to laugh at something Miky said. With a jolt, Rasmus realized he was staring too and turned back to his boyfriend, who must’ve noticed considering that his expression resembled that of a kicked dog.</p>
<p>Well that absolutely would not do!</p>
<p>“You know, it’d be a waste if you threw all of your plans away. I’m sure I can stay an extra night.”</p>
<p>Martin looked stunned. “Rasmus—no, it’s okay. You don’t have to do that.”</p>
<p>“But I want to. My parents won’t mind.” Rasmus flew over behind Martin and threw his arms around his boyfriend’s shoulders, kissing his cheek. “I missed you too, you know.”</p>
<p>“Rasmus…” Martin raised his hand and placed it over the smaller Dane’s own. “I’d love that.”</p>
<p>“And also—” Rasmus’ hand went up to caress Martin’s antlers. “When we’re get back, we should ask Jankos to let us keep the reindeer enchantment for a little while longer.”</p>
<p>“Oh?” Martin asked, a brow raised. “And why is that?”</p>
<p>“I have a few… ideas,” Rasmus said, grabbing hold of an antler and tugging at it lightly, relishing in the shiver that ran down Martin’s body and the moan that escaped his lips.</p>
<p>“Rasmus—”</p>
<p>A thud in the sleigh. They both turned to see Jankos and Luka returning from their excursion, hands on their knees and heaving. The Substitute Santa looked up at them with panicked eyes. “We need to leave. Now!”</p>
<p>“Why? What’s wrong? Did something happen?”</p>
<p>“The dad woke up when were laying out the presents,” Luka explained. “He thought we were robbers. I might have… knocked him out with a candy cane?”</p>
<p>“You did <em>what!?</em>”</p>
<p>“Just go!”</p>
<p>Rekkles-Martin groaned into his hands. “This is going to be a long night.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>“The moon’s pretty tonight—”</p>
<p>“—but not as pretty as me?”</p>
<p>Luka chuckled. “You know me so well.”</p>
<p>“You’re going to have to pick up some new lines if you want to woo anybody over in NA,” Mihael advised. “I hear those LA boys are fierce.”</p>
<p>“I’m sure my natural wit and wicked charisma can carry me there,” Luka replied, and then laughed. A soft, broken thing that both elated and shattered his heart at the same time. He was going to miss this. Miss Mihael. He relaxed, the tension in his face melting away as he gazed at his now ex-boyfriend’s face. The moonlight gently illuminating Mihael’s soft features. “Thank you, for being so cool about this. You’ve made this far easier than it had any right to be.”</p>
<p>“What was I supposed to do, guilt you into staying?”</p>
<p>“Get mad at me, at least.” Luka straightened in his spot on the sleigh’s cushion, grateful that Jankos and Rekkles were busy handling the next house on their list and the Danish duo were busy mooning over each other as always. “No one would blame you if you were.”</p>
<p>“How could I be mad at you for leaving when it’s obvious that you’re not happy here,” Mihael said, in a most matter-of-fact way that made Luka want to punch himself. “I don’t—I don’t want you stay if it means that you’re going to be miserable. I just wish that I could’ve made things—”</p>
<p>“No,” Luka interrupted, firm and unwavering. “This is on me and me alone. I was the one who took a risk in role-swapping, so I should be the one who has to suffer the consequences. You—fuck—you’re the best thing to has happened to me in years. Please believe me when I say that our breakup was the most ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ thing.”</p>
<p>Mihael chuckled. “That I can’t deny. Look, don’t worry about me, alright? You should focus on smashing NA so we can meet up again at MSI.”</p>
<p>“Cocky, are we?”</p>
<p>“You might have rubbed off on me a bit.”</p>
<p>“Heh. When we do meet, don’t hold back. Any of you. Anything less that a hundred-percent from you all is insult in my eyes.”</p>
<p>“Wouldn’t dream of it.”</p>
<p>Luka shook his head, a big, dumb smile on his face. “What did I ever do to deserve you? I owe you a lot, you know that, right? More than I could ever pay back.”</p>
<p>For the first time since their talk started, the smile slipped off of Miky’s face, replaced by a far-off pensive stare into the distance. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that. You could pay me back, here and now.”</p>
<p>“Oh?” Luka raised a brow, a smirk gracing his lips. “Do tell.”</p>
<p>“It’s nothing big, just a promise you need to make to me.” Mihael twisted his body to face him, their eyes locking with an intensity that Luka had almost forgotten. “If… <em>When</em> you come back to Europe, and we’re both still single, hit me up? I don’t know what kind of people we’ll be or where we’ll be in life, but here and now? I definitely want to give this thing another shot when we have the chance.”</p>
<p>A very loud, very ecstatic part of Luka screamed at him to make that promise, to secure a future with Mihael, but the softer, wiser part knew better than that. “I’ll accept, on one condition.”</p>
<p>“Name it.”</p>
<p>“Don’t wait for me,” Luka declared without so much as quiver in his voice. He needed to put up a strong front, for Mihael. “You deserve someone who appreciates you and cherishes you and takes care of you. There are people out there who can definitely do that, people better than me. If I miss out on my chance, then that’s my own fault. I’m the one that chose to let you go.”</p>
<p>Mihael’s face went blank, and Luka was afraid that he finally, <em>finally</em>, hit the support’s tolerance limit for his bullshit, but then he laughed, a wondrous, chiming thing that made the Croatian’s heart skip a beat.</p>
<p>“Sure,” Mihael answered with a soft smile. “But only if you do the same. I don’t want you to wait for me either.”</p>
<p>Easier said than done, but Luka was never one to back down from a challenge. “Fair enough. I accept those terms.”</p>
<p>“Pleasure doing business with you,” Mihael said with a chuckle.</p>
<p>After that, both seemed content to bask in the silence for a moment, to bask in each other’s presence, to commit the night to memory so that they would never forget. Once both of them seemed content and Luka could breath easier, he spoke again, “I’m glad I got to see you again before I went to NA. We didn’t really have a chance to talk with how quickly everything moved.”</p>
<p>“It’s a Christmas miracle,” the support snarked. “But yeah, me too.</p>
<p>Their eyes met once more, and Luka felt that tug again, that pull, the one telling him to lean forward and press their lips together, to steal one final kiss before they truly go their separate ways. But he couldn’t, he shouldn’t. They were both moving on to a new, blank chapter of their lives, and to begin it with ink seeped in the remnants of the past would only stain the future they wished to write.</p>
<p>Luka didn’t know where his path would take him, or if it would ever lead him back to Mihael, but what he did know was that he couldn’t let their regrets shape the road they paved. Doing such a thing could only condemn the present and forsake the future, and they both deserved better than that. He would move forward, cherishing the past not as an ideal to return to, but as memories that brought him joy. And if they <em>did </em>meet in the future, Luka wanted them to meet as better people than they were today, as people who have the strength to not let distance and career tear them apart.</p>
<p>Just in time, Jankos and Rekkles hopped back into the sleigh. “See,” the jungler began. “That wasn’t so bad after you got the hang of it, right?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, actually,” Rekkles replied with a mouthful of cookies. “I want to see if I can beat my own time later.” He swallowed and looked down at his bag of cookies with a satisfied smile. “You know, maybe this night wouldn’t be so bad after all.”</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Despite it all, and after a few fumbles, they managed to get a handle on delivering presents, efficiently dropping and hopping from one house to another, a well-oiled gift giving machines. Even Rekkles got into the spirit of it, laughing and joking with the rest of the team as the night grew darker. Before they knew it, they were almost done with Europe, only returning to Poland to check-off a few houses Marcin had looked over in his first run-through of his home country. All in all, the jungler was willing to say that everything was going fairly well.</p>
<p>That was until he found himself caught in a net inside the chimney of a target house. The same type of net that Marcin had used in his own apartment to catch Santa.</p>
<p>“I still can’t believe that there is an actual, working trap that can be used to capture Santa,” Rekkles commented, shifting positions to get comfortable. Unfortunately, that meant digging his elbows into Marcin’s side. As the jungler winced, he silently thanked the Santa magic for making the chimney wider in the inside. <em>No wonder, Santa could fit in there</em>. If it hadn’t been for that magic, he and Rekkles would have been squished together and that would have been very, very awkward. As it were, they could almost use the net as a makeshift hammock, though their shoulders were still brushing against one another. “Where did you buy it anyway?”</p>
<p>“Amazon,” Marcin answered simply.</p>
<p>Rekkles snorted. “What, is Jeff Bezos trying to monopolize Christmas too?”</p>
<p>“Who?”</p>
<p>“Never mind,” the ADC sighed. “So, how do we get out of here?”</p>
<p>“We wait for our captors to arrive I guess. They should be told that they captured us by an app on their phone by now, and when they come they can turn on the release mechanism.”</p>
<p>“There’s a release mechanism?” Rekkles asked incredulously. “If there is one, why didn’t you use it for Santa?”</p>
<p>Marcin let out a sheepish laugh, his cheeks tinged with shame and embarrassment. “I might have installed it the wrong way. The release mechanism on my trap doesn’t work.”</p>
<p>Rekkles just looked at him for a moment before breathing through his nose and banging his head on the concrete walls. Which, truth be told, was not the reaction Marcin had hoped for. It seemed ridiculous, but he cared a lot about what his new ADC thought about him. Even after years of rivalry and G2 themselves crushing Fnatic’s hopes, Rekkles still seemed like this distant and elusive figure. Maybe it was the way he carried himself, with extreme dignity and wisdom, two things Marcin was well aware that he himself was lacking in. Whatever the case, he had hoped to make a good first impression as a teammate. It appeared that he has failed.</p>
<p>(well there was that, and there was also that night at All-Stars they both agreed to never talk about afterwards).</p>
<p>“Hey, I’m sorry about dragging you into this. I was trying to wel—I was looking for some extra hands and the first thing that I thought about was the team.”</p>
<p>Rekkles sighed, dragging his hands across his face. “It’s fine. I did agree to help you in the end.”</p>
<p>“And I’m glad you did. You saved me from the awkwardness of being the fifth wheel.”</p>
<p>“I thought Luka and Mihael broke up.”</p>
<p>“They did, but they deserve to have a nice, long talk before Luka leaves. I need to have one elf with me at all times, Santa’s rules, so that wouldn’t have happened if you didn’t join. Thank you.”</p>
<p>“You don’t need to thank me. Truth be told, this night has been pretty fun, all things considered.”</p>
<p>“Wait really?” Marcin blinked, lips widening into a smile, and breathed a sigh of relief. “Good. That’s good. I was worried you were having a bad time.”</p>
<p>“Well I can’t say that I’m having a great time <em>now</em>, but yeah, being a substitute elf has been more fun than I thought it would be. If anything, I’m surprised that you guys wanted me to come along.”</p>
<p>“What? Why wouldn’t we?”</p>
<p>“I’m aware that I can be… more serious than I need to be. I figured you guys were worried that I’d cramp your style or something.”</p>
<p>“What? No!” Marcin cried. “Even if you were, which you aren’t, we would have still invited you. You’re a member of this team, Rekkles. If anything, we’d be assholes if we didn’t invite you.”</p>
<p>“That’s…” Rekkles looked away, and it may be the darkness playing tricks on him, but he swore he saw a flush run up the ADC’s neck. “…Martin.”</p>
<p>“I’m sorry?”</p>
<p>“Call me Martin,” Rekk—<em>Martin </em>stated. “I know it can get kinda confusing with Wunder, and, well, you too I guess, but I’d prefer it if you guys called me that. It makes things more casual, you know? I don’t want to just be Rekkles around you guys.”</p>
<p>Did—did his heart just skip a beat? Marcin could feel his cheeks tighten as he grinned. “Well welcome on board, Martin. A-And if you want, you can call me Marcin as well.”</p>
<p>Martin chuckled. “Glad to be here, Marcin.”</p>
<p>Just then, Marcin heard the pitter-patter of footsteps nearing the chimney. He shushed Martin. “I think they’re coming.”</p>
<p>He could hear some chattering beyond the walls. It sounded like there were only two people there, and for some reason Marcin felt a tinge of familiarity in him. Did he knew his captors?</p>
<p>But it seemed like Martin recognized them, as his eyes widened and he said a breathy, “No way…”</p>
<p>The footsteps and conversation stopped, and the world spun as the net gave way and he and Martin fell down the chimney. In a blur, he found himself lying down on a carpeted floor, flat on his back, with a weight on top of his chest. He looked down and saw a nest of blond hair, and with a jolt he realized that Martin was lying on his chest. His heartbeat hastened, drumming against his ribcage.</p>
<p>They had never been as close as this since that fateful night at All-Stars, where Marcin was still raw with heartbreak after Fabian left for NA and Martin was heartbroken in general. It was a drunken, careless mess, and when it was done they both silently agreed to never talk about it. Sometimes, Marcin wondered whether it happened at all, or if it was just his memories playing tricks on him.</p>
<p>When Martin lifted his head, brilliant blue eyes gazing into Marcin’s own, a stray lock of hair falling down his face, the Pole forgot how to breath, and knew for certain that night was real.</p>
<p>“AHAHAHAHAHAH!” A cruel voice laughed, looming over them. “I have you now, Santa! You’re finally going to pay for giving me coal every year.”</p>
<p>A second, more timid voice rang out. “Oskar, I still think this is a very bad idea.”</p>
<p>Martin tore his gaze away from Marcin, much to the jungler’s disappointment, and squinted at their captor. “Oskar?”</p>
<p>“Martin?” their captor asked.</p>
<p>Marcin tilted his head up and saw the Fnatic jungler standing over them with a shovel over his shoulders. “Selfmade?”</p>
<p>“Jankos?”</p>
<p>“Inspired!” Inspired cheered.</p>
<p>“Kacper,” Selfmade admonished the younger polish jungler and then turned to his ex-ADC and the older polish jungler. “What the fuck are you two doing in my chimney? And where the fuck is Santa?”</p>
<p>“You’re looking at them,” Martin said with a hint of pride. “We’re the one delivering presents this year. We are Substitute Santa…s.”</p>
<p>“Technically, I’m Substitute Santa. You’re just a substitute elf.”</p>
<p>“Don’t ruin the moment, Marcin.”</p>
<p>“Okay.”</p>
<p>Selfmade blinked. “Substitute what now?”</p>
<p>After a lengthy and chaotic <strike>argument</strike> conversation, the two managed to negotiate their release if they promised to put a good word in for Oskar with Santa. In the end, they left Inspired with a new bunny hat and Selfmade his yearly bag of coal before leaving through the back door.</p>
<p>Once the door was firmly shut behind them, and they could hear Selfmade complaining about getting coal again, Martin turned to Marcin and asked, “Has he really been on the naughty list his entire life?”</p>
<p>The jungler was already going through his documents. “Looks like it. Probably for the best… I don’t think even Santa himself could give him what he asked for this year.”</p>
<p>“What did he want?” Martin leaned over to see what was on the requested present list, and took a sharp intake of breath once he saw what it was. There, written in firm, black ink, was a name the ADC knew all too well.</p>
<p><em>Tim “Nemesis” Lipovšek</em>.</p>
<p>Marcin cleared his throat. “Let’s just head back to the sleigh, we’re almost done.”</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>The end came not with a cheer, but with a huge sigh of relief as Marcin delivered the final present personally. Everyone was pretty worn out after a long night of delivering presents, and they all agreed to park somewhere secluded before making the roundtrip back home. They chose a flat plateau somewhere in central china and laid out a campfire. Mihael connected his phone to the Sleigh’s sound system and the air was filled with Christmas tunes while Rasmus busted out all of the cookies and milk they had collected and they were now munching on them.</p>
<p>“So,” Luka asked as he sat down next to Martin. The ADC wasn’t exactly sitting away from the main group, but he wasn’t in the center of it either. Just far enough to see the rest of his team engaged in lively conversation. “How was your first big adventure with G2?”</p>
<p>“Kinda bumpy but it was actually pretty fun all things considered.” Martin nodded to himself, firmly believing in his words. “Is it always like this?”</p>
<p>“Maybe not the Santa thing, but yeah, it’s pretty much always like this.” Luka turned to gaze at his teammates, who were busy laughing at Jankos. At that moment, Martin could only imagine what went through his rival’s head, seeing the team he had built, the people he considered family, for what could possibly be the last time as teammates. “You want to know a fun fact?”</p>
<p>“What?”</p>
<p>“Jankos keeps saying that he trapped Santa in his chimney, but he never said anything about the reindeers or the elves.”</p>
<p>Martin took a moment to fully absorb those words. “He lied to us?”</p>
<p>“Hm, not necessarily, but he certainly didn’t need us to tag along and help him out.”</p>
<p>A part of Martin felt like he should be peeved and offended that he was tricked, but that feeling of ire never came. As he watched his new jungler laughing maniacally in the middle of his team, all he felt was gratitude. Gratitude for being invited on what should have been a final hurrah for the old G2, for the chance to get to know his teammates better outside League, for being welcomed into the team so easily.</p>
<p>“Can you do me a favor?” Luka asked.</p>
<p>“Anything.”</p>
<p>“Take care of them for me.”</p>
<p>Martin nodded without hesitation. “I will.”</p>
<p>Just then, Rasmus came by them, waving them over to the main group. “Guys, guys, you need to see this. Martin just came up with a new way to eat cookies.”</p>
<p>“Rasmus, it’s literally just dipping your cookie in milk,” Wunder called out, dumbfounded. “Have you really never had this?”</p>
<p>…To Martin’s knowledge, he himself couldn’t confirm or deny that statement. Still, a part of him was fairly certain that this was just a ploy to get the two of them over to the main group, so he let his formerly-ex-now-new midlaner to drag him over by the fire.</p>
<p>The rest of the night was filled with hearty laughter and assorted clownery that Martin had no issue taking part in. And once the energy started to dwindle and fade, he managed to drag Marcin away from the main group and planted a kiss on his jungler’s cheek.</p>
<p>“Thank you,” Martin said, butterflies in his stomach as he saw his jungler’s cheeks redden. “For inviting me to come along with you guys. I know I’m a part of the team and all, but you really didn’t need to and I would have understood. So again, thank you, I had a great time tonight.”</p>
<p>Marcin raised his hand to touch the cheek Martin kissed, a big, dumb smile on his face. “I’m really glad to hear that.”</p>
<p>“If you two lovebirds are done,” Wunder called out, ignoring the schoolboy chuckles of the rest of his team behind him. “We need to get a move on. It’s almost morning in Europe.”</p>
<p>Marcin cleared his throat. “R-Right. We’ll take off soon. I need to free Santa from my chimney anyway. Rasmus, Wunder, we’re dropping you guys off first.”</p>
<p>“But don’t you need us to pull the sleigh?”</p>
<p>“Oh, uh, about that.” Marcin let out a nervous chuckle. “The sleigh can actually fly itself without a reindeer, so I might have lied about that?”</p>
<p>Wunder just stared blankly at the air. He then nodded to himself, bent down, and charged at Marcin.</p>
<p>“JANKOS, RUN!”</p>
<p>“MARTIN NO! YOU’LL GET BLOOD ON YOUR HORNS—”</p>
<p>(They all came home safe and sound, eventually)</p>
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